Manchester City will entertain Schalke at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night having secured a 3-2 away win in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie at Gelsenkirchen. The Citizens will be confident about their chances of qualification after scoring three away goals last month. Hence, Pep Guardiola might opt to rotate his squad so that some of his senior first-team players can get some rest ahead of the busy final few months of this campaign.
The home side will likely lineup in a 4-3-3 formation with Phil Foden and Leroy Sane set to feature from the start of this European encounter.
4-3-3 Manchester City Predicted Lineup Vs Schalke
Defence
Ederson will begin the match in goal for the Citizens on Tuesday night despite failing to keep a clean sheet against Watford last weekend. Arijanet Muric will play back up to the Brazilian keeper on the City bench.
Guardiola might go with the centre-half pairing of Nicholas Otamendi and Aymeric Laporte in midweek as they look to keeping things stable at the back. However, John Stones will likely not feature in this game as he is still recovering from his injury.
Danilo might get an opportunity to impress at left-back while Kyle Walker operates on the right side of the Citizens backline. A clean sheet could go a long way in boosting their chances of qualification into the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. However, it won’t be easy for the Man City defenders if they underestimate their German opponents this week as Schalke are a well-drilled side who can cause an upset on their day.
Midfield
The home team might start with the midfield three of Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva as the talented trio look to establish City’s dominance at the middle of the park. They will be responsible for creating some chances in the Schalke half. Both David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne might start on Guardiola’s bench, but Fernandinho will not feature in this game as he is still sidelined due to injury.
Attack
The Citizens attack would be comprised of Sergio Aguero spearheading Guardiola’s attack while Riyad Mahrez and Leroy Sane look to provide width down the channels. All three of them will fancy their chances of finding the back of the net against the German opposition especially after scoring three goals past them in the first leg.
Last weekend’s hat-trick hero, Raheem Sterling might start on the Man City bench as Guardiola tends to rotate his squad during midweek fixtures.
